Onkyo collaborates with Imagination and its Pure division to bring next generation connected audio to customers world-wide

Press Release dated: 12 Nov 2012

Tokyo, Japan, 12 November 2012: Onkyo, one of the world’s foremost creators of innovative home entertainment products, Imagination Technologies, a leading multimedia technologies company and Pure, the consumer product division of Imagination Technologies announced today a strategic collaboration in connected audio technologies.

This multi-faceted agreement will draw upon Imagination’s breadth of processor, connectivity, cloud and audio technologies to complement Onkyo’s market leading audio expertise, premium brand and geographic reach. These will be brought together to enable Onkyo to deliver industry-leading connected audio capabilities across its product range, strengthening its leadership in the high quality audio market.

As part of this co-operation Onkyo will also be working with key silicon and ecosystem partners of Imagination, to develop new products featuring advanced connected audio and supportive services. This co-operation will take advantage of Imagination’s Flow cloud connectivity technology platform, which is fully optimised for Imagination’s Meta processor and Ensigma communications technologies. Onkyo will be able to integrate the most advanced cloud-connected solutions, including streaming radio and audio content, advanced music services and a growing number of other offerings from Imagination’s Flow ecosystem partners, to deliver the future generations of cloud- connected user experiences.

Through this multi-facetted partnership Onkyo will also work with Imagination’s Pure division to develop new products and will also distribute and market Pure’s leading-edge consumer audio products and cloud-based music offering in selected markets, with Japan as the initial region.

Says Munenori Otsuki, President and CEO, Onkyo Corporation: “Working with Imagination, Imagination’s silicon and ecosystem partners, and Pure, we are confident that our customers will continue to receive what they expect from Onkyo: unrivalled audio and product quality, but now in a fully connected way. Thanks to our collaboration with Imagination and its partners, Onkyo can deliver the most advanced cloud-connected high-quality audio products for many years to come.”

Hossein Yassaie, CEO Imagination: “We are delighted to be working with such a well-respected and leading global audio brand as Onkyo as a lead OEM partner. Working with such a premium brand and alongside our silicon and Flow services partners, we believe the collaboration will bring together considerable expertise and will help Onkyo to create a high quality audio product roadmap featuring next generation capabilities and cloud-based services that substantially enhances end-user experiences.”

Flow is a portfolio of cloud connectivity technologies that enable consumer, industrial and embedded products powering the Internet of Things to be fully cloud-connected. Flow enables product designers to easily create their own cloud-based solutions totally optimised for their end applications, while the growing ecosystem of Flow offerings and content partners enables OEMs and ODMs to provide a rich set of cloud-based solutions that complement their own core product capabilities.

Meta CPU technology is a comprehensive range of general purpose 32-bit processors ideally suited for a wide range of consumer and embedded applications. Its unique hardware multi-threading and DSP capabilities enable Meta processors to power the most advanced products.

Ensigma communications technology is a unique multi-standard, on-chip radio processor (RPU) that provides Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and other connectivity standards. The same Ensigma RPU can also enable products to receive any broadcast TV or radio signal world-wide, configured only by software.

Imagination’s MetaFlow Connected Processor platforms combine Meta, Ensigma and Flow technologies to offer a complete technology platform, enabling chip designers to create the most compelling consumer, industrial, and embedded products. A growing number of Imagination’s silicon partners are offering MetaFlow-based products, which are already used by Pure and many other OEMs and ODMs to create some of the most innovative cloud-connected consumer products available today.

About Onkyo Corporation

Since 1946 Onkyo has been passionately committed to developing audio products that deliver uncommon performance, quality and value. Bundling proprietary technologies and innovations with other sound-enhancing exclusives, Onkyo continues to create award winning products that are lauded by industry leading audio publications. The company's philosophy is to deliver products that are superbly designed and built to a consistently outstanding standard of excellence. Today, Onkyo is at the forefront of the home theater and digital revolutions.

About Pure

Pure is a world leading consumer electronics manufacturer and leads the way in wireless music and radio systems and entertainment cloud services with the Pure Connect portal www.pureconnect.com as well as innovating in new areas such as the TV set top box market. Designed and engineered in the UK, all of Pure’s products are manufactured with the environment in mind and at ethically audited facilities. Pure is a division of Imagination Technologies Group plc. See www.pure.com .

About Imagination Technologies

Imagination Technologies - a global leader in multimedia and communication technologies - creates and licenses market-leading processor solutions for graphics, video, and display, embedded processing, multi-standard communications and connectivity, and cross-platform V.VoIP & VoLTE. These silicon and software intellectual property (IP) solutions for systems-on-chip (SoC) are complemented by an extensive portfolio of software drivers, developer tools and extensive market and technology-focused ecosystems. Target markets include mobile phone and multimedia, connected home consumer, mobile and tablet computing, in-car electronics, telecoms, health, smart energy and connected sensors and controllers. Imagination’s licensees include many of the world’s leading semiconductor, network operator and electronics OEM/ODM companies. Corporate headquarters are located in the United Kingdom, with sales and R&D offices worldwide. See: www.imgtec.com